by B. Buechter
“What are you doing Doxie?” He demanded, prodding the gun barrel to her chest. “Speak.”
“I was told to bring this to the Chief’s room. New linens.” Eva swallowed hard and continued to play his game. He was armed with at least three guns that she could see.
“No one told me,” he snuffed.
Her heart was beating so loudly in her ears that her own voice was almost inaudible. “Would you like me to relay that message to the commander who gave the task?”
“Absolutely not,” the Tiger straightened up and lowered his weapon. “You may enter.”
And like that, Eva was inside, completely alone. Her eyes were instantly drawn to her blades sitting on the desk and they were ripe for the taking. It reminded her of how naked she felt without them. Those two silver swords were her mark. Without them, she was just Eva. But risking her life along with Jake and Tommy’s would be reckless. There was no way she could take her weapons now.
She hid the linens underneath an end table so The Chief would not know she was there, and swiftly made her way around the room. Any place that was small enough for her to hide would be sufficient. Then, plans of murder started to make their way into her mind. Poison? Too impersonal. She had no knowledge of any deadly concoctions. Gunshot? Too loud. Bodyguards would barge into the room in an instant. A knife through the chest? He could survive if the aim was off. But if it was dead on.
It seemed like the only option of concealing herself was a small space between two bookshelves. They joined together in a diagonal pattern. There was plenty of space to slide between them and it was dark enough that no one would detect her. So as long as her back was against the wall, she would be invisible. In the morning, after the meal, she would return here and wait for McAvoy to return. When his guards left him for the evening, she would strike.
If this works, she looked at her Shadow, then I can finally start living my life with Jake… and Tommy. The thought of them brought up a few tears. Suddenly, the guard outside became impatient. He started banging on the door then threw it open to find Eva standing right in front of him. She stifled her breathlessness until he released her and she was out of sight.
“How long does it take to drop off linens wench?” the Tiger growled.
“My apologies,” she bowed her head. “I got caught up in all of the beautiful treasures.”
Midday arrived too quickly. The Wanderer hoped that no one had noticed her absence. She made herself look busy, as Wanda suggested, and most of the men ignored her. Truthfully, she had no idea what she was doing just moving piles of clothing and linens around. It scared her more that the Tigers would notice that she was walking the same supplies and leathers back and forth on the floor. On the next floor down, she felt her arm being grabbed as she was yanked into a room.
At first, she believed she had been caught. Someone had snitched on her. It wasn’t until the Tiger locked the door and forced her against the wall that she realized what was happening. Both of her arms were held above her. They refused to budge against the Tiger’s tight grip. The large man towered over her, easily larger than anyone she had met before. She jerked her head in disgust as he sniffed her neck. He was licking his lips and reached up her dress. When he shifted his weight, he accidently released one of her wrists. Fatal mistake. Eva’s knife was already lodged through his Adam’s apple and out the back of his spine.
Staggering back and pulling the blade from his jugular, he was able to gurgle one last question. “Who are you?”
Eva dropped to the floor and stood over her kneeling victim. “Someone you should never have underestimated.” Unusual sparks of power surged in her body. Her demon shrank in size as the man died at her feet but paid no attention to it. She needed to figure out how to hide the body. Quickly snatching her knife from the Tiger’s palm and wiping the blood on his clothing, she rolled his body on the wooden floor next to the bed. Lucky for her, the wood was almost black, so the blood blended into its darkness. He was far too heavy to push underneath the bed so Eva managed to wedge herself between the wall and the limp carcass and pushed with her feet. Sweat beaded and dripped from her forehead, but she could not leave him in the open. One more push and he would be concealed for a couple days. So long as no one knew he was gone, only the eventual smell would give him away.
Evening meal was upon her but she had no appetite. The rest of the Doxies had left The Castle long before Eva made it out of that bedroom. She was so focused on the length of the lines for evening meal that she did not notice Jake running food from the kitchen and back.
But he noticed her. It was those aqua eyes that gave her away. Inside, Jake wanted to scream her name. He knew better than to call out. The Tigers would be on them in a second. They would be brought to The Chief, and who knows what would happen next? Even though every fiber of his being wanted to wrap his arms around her, he fought the urge.
“How many Tigers did you take down today?” Wanda joked. Eva had still been shaken by the event in the Tiger’s quarters. Neither she nor Wanda had the stomach for food that night.
“Only one,” she said and stirred the slop around in her bowl with an old spoon. Her shadow was seated next to her. Quiet. How unusual.
“I can smell the blood on you,” said the woman. “And you did not even think twice about the color uniform I gave you. No credit.”
“Credit is due to you,” Eva smiled weakly. “That’s for sure.”
Wanda lowered her voice. “Are you scared?”
“What?” She had drifted off again.
“For the plan? The third day. When you strike down our Chief. You know, save your friends?”
“Oh yeah.” How could she forget? Danger loomed over her from the instant she stepped foot in the compound. “I am trying not to think about it. If I dwell on it, I will hesitate or make a mistake.”
“If I never see you again, know that your bravery gives me hope.” Wanda took Eva by the shoulders and hugged her tight. “Someday, I will see my daughter again…”
Eva was about to retire for the night when the middle-aged woman with curly hair whispered from her tent. “The place where you entered this compound has not yet been rebuilt. Second floor, closet at the end of the second hall. Maybe I will sneak out before you do.”
Eva stirred in her blankets. “You should...Because if I am discovered, there will be an entire army after me.”
Day 2 - Jake and Tommy
Their father had only promised one day of hard labor, but he must have forgotten about them. They were awakened by the guards knocking at their door early in the morning. Sunlight had just started to warm their rooms. Both of the brothers knew that another long day lay ahead of them. The smoky coffin that the Tigers called ‘the kitchen’ would singe the skin off of their arms and blacken their lungs. They would be pouring sweat within the first hour of work. But anything was better than the Pits.
“I haven’t heard anything about Eva.” Jake had been worrying about her since they had been captured. Perhaps he would forget her face if she never came for them. What if all of my memories of her start to fade? The thought of witnessing Eva’s death with his own eyes terrified him even more. The image of her famous blades at his father’s desk stuck in his mind.
As they entered the first corridor of The Castle, Jake glanced at someone he swore he recognized. She had short, red hair. It was wavy, but not curly. Clad in a black silk nightgown just like the others. It was a Doxie about his age, but they had passed each other so quickly that he did not get a chance to get a good look. As they turned their backs to each other, he looked over his shoulder. She must have endured years of torture for the scars that she wore proudly on her back. They were not numerous enough to cause her torso to deform, but there were a few prominent slashes from shoulder to shoulder. Jake convinced himself that he must have met her in the Rover colony or Nomad troupe. He had seen her before but his brain could not pinpoint where.
“Those Doxies ain’t for you!” A guard smacked him on the bac
k of the head, hard. “Not for your eyes. Or your hands. So don’t get any funny ideas.”
“She is probably hiding.” Tommy tried to remain level-headed because his brother looked like he would explode at any second. “You know her, Jake. If we saw her, our dad would find out.”
“You’re right,” he said. Admitting that his brother’s words were comforting was difficult. Without another word, they traveled down the last hallway on the main floor to the kitchen. Tommy peeled potatoes again and Jake took charge in keeping the contents of the pot from solidifying. The smell of rotting food was particularly pungent that day. Every single servant gagged as they passed the fires.
But that was not the only thing that had changed. Something was different. Two people were gone. Not just any servants, though. The elderly gentlemen who were forced to carry heavy dishes to and from the yard were missing. Jake had seen them cutting other vegetables only a day ago. In the corner of the room, there was nothing but a lonely table with food waiting to be prepared. Blunt knives lay motionless next to them. He feared the worst. If they were no longer useful, the Tigers had disposed of them.
“Don’t stop stirring,” one of the servants warned.
Jake nearly fell off the stool where he was sitting. He had dozed off from the heat. “Where are the old men that were here yesterday?” Jake pushed back a few strands of hair from his face.
“Dead.” The servant’s reply did not surprise him. “Most likely… Good eye, though. We need someone at that station.” He called two women near Tommy to replace the elderly men.
Jake wanted to get angry at the man’s lack of sensitivity, but he knew that they witnessed this every day. Their entire lives are built around death. You have to be numb to survive. He continued drawing the spoon around the pot, staring deep into the lumpy gray sludge. Whiffs of rancid onions curled his toes and he swallowed the vomit in his throat.
Finally, their break for evening meal arrived. It felt like days had passed. For the first part of the shift, the Tigers refused to open the windows because they were too cold. It didn’t take long before the air became unbreathable. They could feel their lungs blacken as they exhaled the same smoke that went in. After a few beatings of pleading servants, they finally agreed to crack the windows to let the smoke clear. When Jake looked for his brother, the cloud of smog had become too opaque to see past an arm’s length. By the time it did clear enough for his eyes to stop burning, the slave-drivers rang the bell to serve the food. And as usual, the kitchen staff was allowed to eat first. They had all spent the day smelling the spoiled food. They cut and prepared the mushy, moldy vegetables that went right in with the rest of the slop.
“I can’t eat this.” The whole kitchen murmured in disgust.
“I can smell it through the sweat in here.”
“You don’t have to eat it.”
“Yeah, but they do. Outside.”
“People will die because of this.”
“It’s not like we have never served this before. Slaves are not allowed the same quality of food. And if we try to go on a hunger strike… They will just let us starve.”
“Maybe tomorrow will be better.”
Children were the first to pour the contents of their bowls back in the pots. Tommy led them. Although he did not want to go hungry, he had a bad feeling that the food would make him ill. Jake, too, followed in his brother’s footsteps but could not help thinking of Eva. If she’s out there and eats this food and dies, it would be entirely my fault. The hope that she would be late for dinner was all he could muster.
The other servants had been taking turns running the food out to the yard. Again, Jake lifted a pot to his chest and started out the door. Most of the Bondsmen stood at the front of the line and the Doxies filled the rear. He was part of the third pair to switch out the food and women were still leaving The Castle. The cold handles of the empty pot froze his sweaty hand to the metal and burned. Instead of crying out in pain, he bit his lip and hurried back into the building. Only a few steps towards his brick sanctuary was when he saw her.
He was positive it was Eva. And it was also the woman he had seen before. He scolded himself for not recognizing her earlier. His heart screamed for him to stop, wrap his arms around her shivering figure, and kiss her, but his brain yanked his feet forward. She had not even noticed him.
I bet she knows we’re here, he reasoned. That is why she hasn’t left. I trust that she has a plan. And it will work. It has to.
When he returned to the kitchen, masking the smile on his face, three of his father’s personal guards were waiting. Tommy was with them. His stance seemed solemn, but his face read fear. The leader of the group pointed up and said nothing. Jake made a guess to where they were going. Their father had requested their presence again. He had spoken of a ‘proposition’ before.
Dan McAvoy was waiting for his sons to return from their duties. While they may have believed that working for two days had been for some perspective, he had a more sinister idea. It was a test. Not a pass or fail test, per se. He thought of it more like a test of character for what he had planned. But there was one thing that he did not account for. Usually, when he overlooked a possible outcome, he would take his anger out on innocent lives. This result had given him an idea. The thought of it made him giddy with excitement, but he remained calm and stoic.
Jake and Tommy entered their father’s chambers alone. Half of the torches were lit inside. Chief McAvoy stood at the other end of the room, behind his desk, facing the large window. It overlooked the entire compound. And in the distance, the Serpents compound was glowing dimly and still bustling well after dark. Jake put his hand on his brother’s back for comfort. Silence weakened their tired legs and exhausted their minds with worry. When he did finally speak, he remained fixated on the horizon.
“Well boys.” A dead voice came from his curled lips. “You were tested. How do you think you fared?”
“A test?” Jake didn’t understand. “I thought-”
“Obviously your thoughts were incorrect,” he interrupted. “But if you consider the past two days as a test. How do you think you performed? We had schools in the Vault. What marks would give yourselves?”
“I would say that I was not the best.” Jake was unsure how to answer. He could not gauge what his father desired as a response. So, he tried to be as honest as possible. “However, given the circumstances, I rose to the occasion. I worked hard. Took initiative.”
“Interesting.” The Chief gave no indication of liking or disliking his eldest son’s answer. He moved onto his younger son. “And Thomas? What about you?”
Tommy took a deep breath. “I think I did my job as I was told. When someone needed help, I helped.”
“But did you help because you feared punishment if you did not?” He had not asked any questions of Jake. This raised their anxiety even more. “Or did you choose to help because it was the correct thing to do?”
Tommy was silent. He did not know the answer to his father’s question. McAvoy turned around. In one hand, glinting in the moonlight was one of Eva’s blades. With it swinging off to his side, he strode over to them. Holding it playfully in his grasp, he pointed it at each one of his sons. In turn, they each stiffened, waiting for the strike. Another moment of silence, then Dan McAvoy’s perfectly groomed beard widened to a smile. A cackle of evil erupted out of him and sent his sons backing against the wall.
“This has all been very interesting for me, boys,” he said as he lowered the weapon. “My spark of genius to test you worked better than I could have planned.”
“What are you talking about?” Jake demanded.
His father’s face dropped in a flash. “Well, if you must know… When I happened upon you in the Pits, I was going to request that you both join me in the Gang. You would not be a very high rank to start out. No. But you would learn what is required of you. How to serve me. You would be given all of your desires. Good food, warm beds, training, power, women.”
He
paused and shoved the blade in Jake’s grasp.
“But then I thought. You know what? I no longer know my boys. How did they survive for so long in this unforgiving world? Too suspicious, if you ask me.” His back turned to them and he continued. “The Rovers may have taken you in. But then, how did you get past The Blooded Row between my kingdom and the Serpent Nest? Again… too suspicious. But then, it dawned on me. Perhaps, at least one of my boys… was truly like their father. A survivor who understood what it takes to live out here. Maybe you slaughtered a few people for food or supplies? Who cares.”
“And the test was to prove what?” Jake had a clear shot to his father’s chest. He grasped the hilt of Eva’s blade so tightly, his knuckles turned white. But if he pounced, the Chief would be ready. He knew that much. Why did he want to kill his father so badly? After begging Eva to find him for months, but what he found was not what he expected. He had waited all this time to be confronted with an urge to end his father’s life.
“My dear boy,” he sighed and shook his head. “To prove which one of you was worthy. If not both of you, one of you must have the heart of a Tiger in him. My proposition that I mentioned… The test that I administered… only one of you passed.”
Jake looked around in confusion. His bloody and calloused hands were still grasped around the hilt of Eva’s blade. Tommy’s eyes were glued to his brother. Their father turned on his heels and lifted his arms.
“And now,” he bowed to them. “My proposal is this… Jacob McAvoy, my eldest son, you have made me proud and thus have a choice. Choose carefully… Strike down your weaker half and join me or I cut both of you down.”
“W-what?” Jake stuttered. He looked at his brother. “You can’t be serious.”
“Power is the only thing I am serious about,” his voice twitched with anger and impatience. “I only breed leaders. And I will only allow my blood to flow in the veins of a leader. Your brother is a sheep among wolves.”
Tommy had tears of anger and terror streaming down his dirty face. “I’m standing right here! You want me dead because I’m not like you?”